Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) to Release Earnings on Tuesday

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) will likely be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Tuesday, February 4th. Analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to post earnings of $1.85 per share and revenue of $15,553,132.98 billion for the quarter. Merck & Co., Inc. has set its FY 2024 guidance at 7.720-7.770 EPS and its FY24 guidance at $7.72-7.77 EPS.Parties interested in listening to the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $16.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.47 billion. Merck & Co., Inc. had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 19.23%. Merck & Co., Inc.’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.13 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Merck & Co., Inc. to post $8 EPS for the current fiscal year and $9 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Up 2.5 %

Merck & Co., Inc. stock opened at $97.99 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $247.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 0.39. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.48 and a 1-year high of $134.63. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $99.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $108.56.

Merck & Co., Inc. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 16th were given a $0.81 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 16th. This represents a $3.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a boost from Merck & Co., Inc.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Merck & Co., Inc.’s payout ratio is currently 67.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MRK. Hsbc Global Res raised Merck & Co., Inc. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim dropped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down from $130.00) on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.